Playoff Bound!!

Coach Riley and Coach Plant

Today was the last regular season game for Taylor's team. They played Taylorsville and it was a huge game. If they lost this game then the season was over but a win would take them to the playoffs. They ended up winning their game and are headed to Park City next Saturday to take on Olympus in the first round of the playoffs. I'm so proud of Taylor and Brandon and what they have done for this team. They took a team who didn't win one game last year and now they are going to the playoffs. This is really a big thing. Some of these kids didn't even want to come back and play this year because last year was so bad. Now they love playing. These kids really worked hard this year to get where they are and deserve to be on a winning team. Here's to hoping they do well in the playoffs!! They have some pretty tough teams to face. Go Huskies!!!

Punkin Carving

This time of year is my favorite time of year. I love the fall. When the air starts to get crisp and the leaves start to fall of the trees. When the air smells like dead leaves and you have to start wearing a jacket when you leave the house. There's nothing better. One of my favorite things to do as a family activity is carve pumpkins.I love to carve them but I HATE gutting them. Last year I even got a fake pumpkin so that I could carve one without gutting it. Last night when I came home from work I found two pumpkins already gutted sitting on the counter ready for me and Taylor to carve when he got home from football. What a sweet guy! This year we decided not to use any templates and just do some good ol' fashion faces on our pumpkins. The short squatty one is mine and the taller one is Taylor's. I think they turned out pretty good.

First Snow Of The Year

I'm not one to love winter but I do love the first snow of the year. It's just so nice to stay home in your sweats, curl up with a blanket, eat some homemade soup and watch movies. Good thing this first snow fell on a Sunday so I was able to stay in and enjoy it.

Halloween Humiliation

I know that some may think that this is a type of torment but, I just think it's too cute. Every year for Halloween we dress Moxley up. The first year we had her she was a ladybug, last year a witch and this year she is a chicken. I couldn't help myself when we saw this costume. I knew we just had to get it. When we put it on Moxley we all started laughing cause she looked so funny but cute. She doesn't like it so much but she's always a good sport when I dress her up.

Called To Serve

Wednesday was a bittersweet day in the Riley house. We took Cooper to the MTC so that he could head out to serve his mission. It was a very emotional time but we all know that it is for the best. I told Cooper when I hugged him goodbye that I am by no means a religious person however, I do understand the importance of a mission. I told him to use the time to not only grow spiritually but also to grow as a person and in his independence. I know that Cooper will be a great missionary. He is such a loving and caring person and he has such a big heart. He gives 100% to everything that he does and will serve the people of Missouri and Kansas well. In just the two days that he's been gone it's been a weird adjustment. We sure miss him a lot considering he wasn't home very much. I miss seeing his contagious smile. Let's hope Coop's two years fly by a lot faster than Taylor's did ;)

Good Advice From An Unlikely Place

If you have read my blog recently then you know about my little mid life crisis I'm currently in. I had tons of good advice from some really great friends but was still feeling down. Well today I was watching a movie "Dan In Real Life" and the end of the movie really caught my attention. At the end of the movie Steve Carell's character talks about life plans. He says that our entire lives we are asked what our plans are for our future. So much expectation is put in to these plans that rarely come out the way that we want them to. So rather then asking ourselves and others what our plans are for our lives maybe we should tell ourselves to plan on being surprised. That's really the only thing that we can count on. I don't know what it was about that but it's like it all of a sudden just clicked. It's not just our expectations that we have for ourselves but the expectations that others have for us that can be overwhelming. When those expectations and life plans go astray, we become frustrated. So I'm going to try really hard to just plan on being surprised and embrace what life has given me from now on. Different isn't always bad it's just that, different.

Anyone For Tea?

Every conference Sunday we go to Taylor's aunt's house after the first session. We have a nice brunch with the family and then watch the second session together. (Not really my thing but it's nice to spend time with the family) Today after we had been there for a while I noticed that my husband was no where to be found. I went downstairs and this is what I found. Taylor was decked out in leis and boas having a tea party with the 3 little girls, Courtney, Aurora, and Kennedy. We may not have kids for a while but I take so much comfort in knowing that when we finally do have kids, I have things like this to look forward to. Is this not the cutest thing ever? Taylor is an amazing husband and I know that someday he will be a wonderful father to our children.

You Are My Sunshine

Moxley loves the sun and will find any spot in the house where the sun is shining in to take a nap. I like to call her my little sunshine baby. She's just too sweet. She has ended up being way more fun and loving then Taylor or I could have ever imagined. It's funny how something as silly as a dog can bring so much love into a home.

Mid Life Crisis In My Mid Twenties!

Lately I've been pretty down and I think that I may have figured out why. The reason that people have a mid life crisis is because they realize that they are not where they wanted to be in their life at whatever point they have the crisis. I think I've hit mine in my mid twenties. I know that I am by no means "old" but I am really struggling with where I am in my life. It's not just that I'm struggling with where I am now but where my life is going. I saw myself done having kids by the time I turned 30. Now I don't know that I'll have any at all much less be done by the time I'm 30. I saw Taylor and I living in a beautiful big house when we finally move out of his parents. Now we will probably end up with a starter home smaller than our first home. I look at my life and one by one as the things that I wanted for my life fade away or get put on hold, I can't help but wonder where things went wrong. I've been trying to tell myself that things haven't gone wrong and that life has just taken me in another direction. Deep down I really feel as though somewhere along the line I stopped living my life for me and started living it for everyone around me. What happened to Jess? Independent, strong willed Jess? Then I think that maybe I'm just not be compromising in my marriage. But these things that I want are not just for me. I want them for my family. This post was not intended to get sympathy from my readers but rather some advice. How do I overcome these feelings? What can I do to make myself realize that life will work everything out? Why do I have to have these things? Why can't I just be satisfied with the fact the I am married to a wonderful man who I love with all of my heart? I know that this will pass but for now I'm feeling consumed by the depression that is eating at me everyday.